Red Nose Day 2011: Social Networking Paves The Way

Today 18th March 2011, is the one time of the year when we can let our hair down or off in some cases, bath in beans, wear our clothes back to front and so on, because yes its Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day. At the start of this week, we gave you details about a new free iOS app available, which in turn will give you updated information on events that are taking place, celebrity line up plus raised funds.

But what caught our eye today, is the impact that social networking sites have on the day itself and particularly how much of your donations come from these sites. According to DMS, a charity marketing agency has stated that at least 50% of the donations sent today to Comic Relief would have transpired through social networks. As fundraising.co.uk reported, this result was reached when a study of 24,000 people were looked at from TGI which concluded that the 2 main charities to benefit from such sites were that of Comic Relief and Sport Relief.

When the percentages were broken down somewhat, it appeared that 45% of Comic Relief donations have come from social network subscribers, which if compared to Cancer Research UK being 34% and Christian Aid at 24% is a pretty mean feat.

In a statement from DMS Joint Head of Planning “Stephen Dodds,” one of the things he did highlight was that, “The Comic Relief brand is ingenious in the way that it is inherently open and social in nature, perfectly in tune with the broader cultural themes of the social networking age. It’s not a charity run by a select few that work there, but is owned by anyone that has ever been involved in a fund-raising event – a theme that should lie at the heart of future fund-raising.”

Tell us will you be taking part in this year’s Red Nose day? If so what are you doing to raise those all important funds? Will you be downloading the free app or donating by way of social networking today?